Food News

Alert notices from RASFF concerning food (except for fruit & vegetables - see special section)

Alarm

In this section we repeated alert notices from the RASFF system of the European commission issued in the previous month, which we thought to be noteworthy and of interest to our clients. 

 

We will refrain from repeating the numerous reports on all mycotoxin and salmonella limit violations but show only a selection to pinpoint the risks. However, we like to put your attention to the fact that in numerous cases missing allergen information was categorized as serious and caused border rejections too.

You can analyse the RASFF-site conveniently by yourself using several filter options and limit the notification to those which are of direct interest to your business. Link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/search

Chemical Hazards: Product Origin
Acrylamide 14155 (!) µg/kg in vegetable crisps other than potato and cereal Netherlands
6538 (!) µg/kg (750 µg/kg) in chips USA (via Belgium)
753 µg/kg (350 µg/kg) in biscuits  Bosnia and Herzegovina
920 µg/kg (350 µg/kg) in biscuits  Kosovo
Antibiotics Chloramphenicol in calf liver  United Kingdom
Chloramphenicol in poultry meat Brazil
Ethylene oxide (EO) / 2-chlorethanol (CE) +): EO 0,56 mg/kg (0,1 mg)kg) in BIRIYANI MASALA/spice mix India
EO 25,7 mg/kg  (!) (0,1 mg/kg) in cinnamon powder India
339 mg/kg (!!!) (0,1 mg/kg) 2-chloroethanol (expressed as EO) in coriander seeds India
EO 0,537 mg/kg (vegetables 0,02 mg/kg, spices 0,1 mg/kg) in tomato dip Mexico
Heavy and toxic metals Cadmium 2,65 mg/kg in frozen seafood mix China
Cadmium 0,23 mg/kg (0,15 mg/kg)  in risotto rice  Italy
Mercury 1,38 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in tuna  Mexico
Histamine 274,4 mg/kg  (200 mg/kg) in frozen tuna Sri Lanka 
1000 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in anchovies with capers in sunflower oil  Spain
Hydrocyanic acid 300 mg/kg (250 mg/kg) in organic blond flaxseed Turkey
Iodine to high iodine content in dried seaweed China (1), South Korea (1)
Mineral oil, MOSH, MOAH Mineral oil 397 mg/kg in sultana raisins  Iran   
Migration of MOSH and MOAH  0,71 mg/kg (0,5 mg/kg) from packaging material into rice  Pakistan
MOAH 1,6 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in potato crisps Romania
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 5,6 µg/kg (2 µg/kg)) in rice India
Aflatoxin B1 57 µg/kg  (!) (2 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total)  66 µg/kg (!)  (4 µg/kg) in shelled peanuts China
Ochratoxin A 26 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in chopped dried figs Turkey
Ochratoxin A 35,6 µg/kg & 19 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs Turkey (2)
Ochratoxin A 20,6 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in raisins Turkey
Ochratoxin A  32 µg/kg & 120 µg/kg  (15 µg/kg) in nutmeg Indonesia (2)
Ochratoxin A  10,1 µg/kg (3 µg/kg) in organic rye Germany
Ochratoxin A  34,9 µg/kg in roasted and salted pistachios USA
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) Benzo(a)pyren 83,4 µg/kg (50 µg/kg) and Salmonella in drilled dill Egypt
PAH 2,45 µg/kg (1µg/kg) in organic baby chocolate biscuits  Belgium
Pesticides Buprofezin 0,021 mg/kg  (0,01), Carbendazim +) 1,2 mg/kg (0,3), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,039 mg/kg (0,01), Ethion 0,023 mg/kg (0,01, Propamocarb 0,05 mg/kg (0,01) in raisins India
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,0295 mg/kg (0,01) in rice powder India
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,06 mg/kg (0,01)  in thai broken jasmine rice Thailand
Acetamiprid 0,16 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Carbendazim +) 0,51 mg/kg (0,1) , Chlorpyrifos +) 0,023 mg/kg (0,01), Thiamethoxam 0,14 mg/kg (0,05) and  Tricyclazole +) 0,24 mg/kg (0,05)  in cumin seeds  India
Hexaconazole +) 0,026 mg/kg & 0,025 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in rice Pakistan (2)
Tricyclazole +) 0,028 mg/kg (0,01) in red long grain rice India
Tricyclazole +) 0,029 mg/kg (0,01) in rice powder India
Tricyclazole +) 0,094 mg/kg (0,01) in parboiled rice India
Dimethomorph 0,12 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg),  Metalaxyl 0,36 mg/kg (0,05), Quinalphos 0,60 mg/kg (!) (0,05), Tebuconazole 0,16 mg/kg (0,05) in cardamom  India
Carbendazim +)  3,89 mg/kg (1 mg)kg) in dried black fungus (via Hong Kong, via Germany), widely distributed China
Haloxyfop +) 0,042 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) and Imidaclopride 0,047 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) in flax seeds  Poland
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids > 59.999 µg/kg (!!) (1000 µg/kg) in borage Italy
16.596 µg/kg  (!) (400 µg/kg) in ground cumin Syria
527 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in cumin (packaged in the United Kingdom, via the Netherlands) India
 in dried oregano unknown
Sudan dyes +) and other unauthorized colorants +) Sudan IV  92 µg/kg  in palm oil Ghana
Rhodamine B +) 53 µg/kg in chilli powder Bangladesh
Sulphites 215 mg/kg (150 mg/kg) in cooked shrimp Ecuador
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) +) and Cannabidiol (CBD) +) Hemp extract in (organic) CBD oil (3) and various foodstuffs (1) Austria (2), Czech Republic (1)
CBD in various foodstuffs  Czech Republic
Cannabidiol (CBD) in organic CBD oil capsules Austria 

  

+) application is prohibited

MRL exceeded: (!) ≥10 times, (!!) ≥50 times, (!!!) ≥ 100 times

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
E.coli in clams Italy
E.coli EHEC/EPEC/STEC/VTEC Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC/STEC) in frozen organic herb mix France
Shigatoxine-producing Escherichia coli in raw milk cow cheese  France
Listeria monocytogenes in cheeses (e.g.Tomme de Savoie) France (2)
in pasteurized cheese and raw milk cheese (distributed in many countries) France
in chilled sliced roast chicken thighs and mexican chicken nuggets France
in paté Belgium
Salmonella in rubbed thyme Czech Republic
in black pepper (3) Brazil (3)
in dried parsley Egypt
in halva Egypt
in smoked pork cooked ham Italy
in frozen scallops Canada
in sesame seeds (6) Nigeria (5), India (1)
in sesame paste (2) Turkey (2)
Salmonella Menston in sesame cream Tahine (2) Turkey (2)
Norovirus* in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) (6) France (5), Netherlands (1)
in clams (Chamelea gallina)  Italy
   
Other Hazards   Origin
Dead insects in Asian egg noodles  China

 

 

 

YOUR PLUS: Our laboratory AGROLAB Dr. Blasy-Dr. Busse is allowed to work with pathogenic food viruses and offers also analysis for Norovirus and Hepatitis A virus. 

 

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger